Field
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to a management technique of managing firmware in an image forming apparatus via a network.
Description of the Related Art
In image forming apparatuses with firmware installed, the firmware is updated in some cases to add a new function and to correct a program.
The types of firmware include general firmware as well as business firmware, individual firmware, and the like. The general firmware is used in the image forming apparatuses by general users. The business firmware is customized for a specific business occasion. The individual firmware is individually released for an individual spot request.
Conventionally, the general firmware has been mainly released. However, to satisfy the recent increased customization demand, increasing numbers of business firmware and individual firmware have been released. Thus, there is a risk of erroneous update between different types of firmware (business firmware to general firmware).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-91427 discusses a technique of displaying a check screen when a piece of firmware is selected for firmware update.
However, in the technique discussed in 2003-91427, a warning is displayed only in a case where a version is upgraded or where a special specification has been set. Thus, a case where the version remains the same or where the version is downgraded is not taken into account. Furthermore, with the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-91427, whether the warning is permitted to be displayed cannot be remotely or flexibly switched in accordance with an installed environment of an image forming apparatus including a condition unique to a country where the image forming apparatus is installed, or an operation mode of the image forming apparatus.